Until relatively recently the valuable tropical montane cloud forests (hereaf ter usually referred to as TMCFs) of the world had scarcely come under the assaults experienced by the downslope montane and lowland forests. TMCFs are not hospitable environments for human occupation, and their remoteness (except in places near Andean high mountain settlements and in the Ethiopian Highlands) and difficult terrain have given them de facto protection. The ad jacent upper montane rain forests have indeed been under assault for timber, fuelwood, and for conversion to grazing and agriculture for many decades, even centuries in the Andes, but true cloud forest has only come under ex ploitation as these lower elevational resources have disappeared. They have also been "nibbled" at from above where there have been alpine grasslands under grazing pressure. Increasingly now, however, these cloud forest eco systems are being fragmented, reduced, and disturbed at an alarming rate. It is now becoming recognized that steps must be taken rapidly to increase our understanding of TMCF and to achieve their conservation, because: their water-capture function is extremely important to society; • their species endemism is high; they serve as refugia for endangered species being marginalized in these environments by increasingly transformed lower elevation ecosystems; they are relatively little studied; yet, their value to science is extremely high; they have low resilience to disturbance; vii viii Preface and many other reasons, which will be discussed subsequently in this publi cation.

Describes the geography, weather, ecosystems and social geography of the Hawaiian islands.

This colorful, user-friendly atlas includes elementary-level information on island topography, population, symbols and emblems, ecosystems, and population figures. Glossary included.

Endangered Plants and Threatened Ecosystems on the Island of Hawai`i has just been released and is available at island bookstores. The full color, 64 page volume is co-authored by UHH Geography and Environmental Studies professor James Juvik along with recent UHH Geography graduates John Delay and Kealoha Kinney. Other book co-authors include UH Manoa Botany Professor Mark Merlin, Hilo state forester Lyman Perry and Big Island ecologist Mick Castello. The book project was an outgrowth of efforts by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the State Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) to involve both Big Island hunter organizations and environmentalists in co-operative efforts to improve understanding and strengthen conservation of the Island's unique and endangered native plant resources. The book includes chapters on the environmental factors controlling ecosystem distribution, current conservation efforts, endangered species laws and policies, and a field guide to selected endangered plant species, with ethno-botanical uses. Many photos and maps accompany the text. Readers will find information on access to public hiking areas in the various districts of the Big Island where native ecosystems can be visited.